[AutoGuide.com]

Here's a great David vs Goliath story that's sure to get you all fired up at "the man" on a Monday morning. G8Board.com member "jackalope" was recently ticketed for having what a police officer deemed to be illegal tail lights. Knowing that the lights are factory equipment on his Pontiac G8 GT, and are certified by the DOT, he took the ticket to court, considering the whole thing to be some kind of mistake. Knowing he was in the right and had the law on his side, Jackalope was shocked when the judge found him guilty and upheld the ticket, meaning he had to pay the $85. Worse still, he was told by the judge (this time "the man" was actually a woman) that she would continue to fine him if he refused to pay. And to add insult to injury, the judge even went so far as to advise the defendant that he should consider selling his car as its not legal in Maryland.

The issue surrounding the tail lights on Jackalope's Pontiac G8 GT, involves the fact that the clear lenses on the G8 GT's lights means GM had to use reflectors on the bumper in order to meet regulations. The state law requires the reflectors to reflect the color red, which the officer who issued the ticket obvious felt he couldn't see.

According to Jackalope, the judge wasn't interested in what the manufacturer or the DOT said, commenting that the opinion of the officer superseeded that of any other authorities on the matter and that as a judge she would uphold the officer's decision to issue the ticket.

Jakalope has since contacted Pontiac and has an appointment to speak with them regarding the issue.

But the story doesn't stop there, with some folks alleging that Jakalope wasn't sporting factory lights, but rather modified taillights on his car. Jakalope has since both stated that he did have the factory lights on the car when the ticket was issued (although he does have other "show" lights). He also claims that even the modified taillights, which can be seen on his Cardomain page, should be legal as well, as they continue to reflect the color red.

More: Pontiac G8 GT Tail Lights Illegal in Maryland, Says Judge on AutoGuide.com

 

[Daniel]

If that happened to me i would be so pissed! And fighting the man will never work LOL

 

[Gambit]

I live in Maryland, and I'm not surprised. The laws here are ridiculous. They are less about safety and more about making money for the courts and for the police force.

I know so many people who have been fined for having their "tag lights" out. They were not speeding, or driving irregularly, or even driving a flashy fancy car. My question is this, if there are no lights on the front tag at all, why then do the rear license tags have to be lit up at night?

For that matter, why do we need front license plates anyway? Many states don't require them. They look stupid, and are detrimental to smooth airflow over the body, (in most cases), thus costing the drivers more money for fuel, and by extension, harming the environment.

These kinds of laws are just an excuse for the police to tax law abiding citizens. As much argument as it has sparked in the past, I think that we should nationalize driving laws. All the states should have to agree on a set of rules for cars, and then all the states should have to enforce those rules equally. I believe that we should model these rules on the lowest common denominator. That being the State which currently has the least restrictive rules regarding customization.

There is no reason at all that a car that is perfectly legal in Pennsylvania or Ohio, should be considered "illegal" in Maryland.


(I'm not talking about rusted-out falling apart junk, I'm talking about cars that would pass State inspections... which should also be nationalized to get rid of cheating and force people to maintain their cars for their own safety and the safety of other drivers.)

 

[jaysgtp]

G8

That is absolutely rediculous... How can someone get fined for something that is of factory OEM components... There has to be a lawsuit or something for what happened to you... The fact that you were told to sell your car or get rid of it wow that is rediculous... G8 illegal in Maryland... Thats gotta be the dumbest thing i have ever heard...